


I'll be Home for Christmas

by Jurrassica



Series: Christmas one-shots 2020 [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Character Death, Christmas, Funerals, I'll Be Home For Christmas, Insecure Zack Fair, M/M, Other, SOLDIER Zack, Scars, Teacher Cloud, Tender Sex, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:20:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27851586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jurrassica/pseuds/Jurrassica
Summary: All Cloud wanted for Christmas was for his SOLDIER husband to return home from war. Imagine his shock, when Zack surprises him one day, after almost a full year of being deployed. If only he could figure out why Zack was avoiding him now.
Relationships: Brief Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart, Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Series: Christmas one-shots 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2038898
Comments: 20
Kudos: 81





	I'll be Home for Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hrelics9](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hrelics9/gifts).



> This is is actually pretty sad for the most part, but very happy in the end!
> 
> Here's the [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yhI35F2NB0&ab_channel=MichaelBubl%C3%A9) this is inspired by! 
> 
> Also, this couldddd maybe be rated "M" instead of "E"? There's smut in this, but it's not super explicit? At least not as much as I usually write haha. I rated this "E" anyway. Maybe let me know in the comments?

**To my beautiful Cloudy-sky,**

_ How’s my perfect husband doing tonight? You know what I’m thinking about right now? The first time we made brownies together, and I smudged some batter on your nose. It was so cute how you wrinkled your nose in fake annoyance. But I know you well enough to know you weren’t annoyed. Maybe we can do that when I get back? Make brownies, I mean. Although, smudging the mix will be fun too, cause then and I see your cute little nose wrinkle in fake annoyance again.  _

_ I miss you, Cloud. I know it’s been difficult, being apart for this long, and who knows how much longer I’ll be gone. But hang tight. I promise, no matter what, I’ll be home for Christmas. _

**Love, your husband, Zack**

Cloud clutched the letter to his chest, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm the emotions bubbling up into his chest. Two months ago. That’s the last time he had heard from Zack. 

Nothing since then.

No phone call, no letter, no email, and no text. Nothing at all.

He was beginning to get worried.

But bad news travels fast, right?

They got news on the freezing, snowy morning of December the 11th. The war was over, and Wutai had surrendered. Almost immediately, families got news of their loved ones return date, some coming home as soon as two days. Phone calls poured in as SOLDIERS called. Mostly everyone was happy, getting the news of their loved ones return.

There were very few who lost their lives, and even then, the news of their death traveled fast.

On a cold, dreary morning, Tifa got news that Aerith had died. The hospital she had worked at was bombed, and there were very few survivors. The Turks had come to Tifa’s house, bearing the bad news. She had broken down immediately. Cloud, being her best friend for years couldn’t even console her.

She just wanted to be left alone most of the time. Cloud would bring her food. Leave it on her doorstep. He’d also let her know that he was there for her, whenever she needed it. But she never answered him, never called him back. She was truly hurting more than Cloud had ever seen her.

The funeral was even worse.

Tifa couldn’t even speak, spent the whole time staring at Aerith’s coffin, her closed coffin. People had approached Tifa, her friends, family, to give their condolences, but she had ignored them all, her gaze trained forward, like if she stared long enough, Aerith would suddenly appear in her arms again.

Other SOLDIERS had attended Aerith’s funeral, solemn and quiet the entire time. Until the end, where they carried her coffin to the cemetery. They had played a special song as well, and presented the flag that had been draped over her coffin to Aerith, along with a dedication to all she had done.

Cloud stood at her side, frowning and trying to keep it together when Tifa held the flag to her chest, burying her face into his neck and sobbing. He held her close, briefly wondering if he was going to be in the same predicament as her if he ever got news about what happened to Zack.

A little over a week before Christmas, and still no word from Zack. Cloud was beginning to lose hope. While the mortality rate wasn’t high, there were still some unidentified bodies being found daily. 

Cloud’s worst fear was that they’d never find Zack’s body, and he’d never have closure. 

But bad news travels fast? 

Right?

* * *

  
  


“Merry Christmas, Mr. Strife!” Denzel smiled up at him. While Cloud was trying his best to hide his fear and worry about Zack, he knew one of his students would be able to pick up on it. “Cheer up, okay? I’m sure Santa will bring you whatever you want!” 

Cloud couldn’t help but smile a little. Denzel was such a sweet kid. Almost too sweet for his own good. 

“Yeah, maybe.” Cloud replied.

“Christmas miracle?” 

“We’ll see.”

Schools were closing a week early, and staying closed for an extra few days, giving families time to celebrate the winning of the war. Giving families more time to spend together, after their SOLDIER family members returned home.

But Cloud didn’t have anything to celebrate. Not with Aerith dead, and not with Zack still missing.

* * *

Cloud could see his puffs of breath as he walked out of his driveway, his boots crunching in the snow. Cold. It was  _ so _ cold. By the time he got home, the sun was already setting. Normally he went food shopping earlier but had gotten a call from Tifa, who finally wanted to talk a little.

Normally, he and Zack would light up a fire in their fireplace, have some hot chocolate and snuggle up by the tree. But now? Cloud was alone at home.

Sighing, he grabbed for the keys in his bag, eyes going wide when he realized the door was unlocked. He could feel his heart race in anxiety. No one would try to break in, right? He lived in a nice neighborhood, and surely everyone was in a good mood with winning the war, right? 

“Hello?” He called out, grabbing an umbrella that was near the door. Sure, maybe not the best weapon for self-defense, but that was all he had at the moment.

He heard some shuffling in the kitchen, and slowly made his way towards the room. As he entered his eyes widened as the umbrella slipped from his hands, crashing to the floor. His breathing picked up and tears filled his eyes, unable to contain the emotions that had suddenly assaulted his entire being.

“Z...Zack?” He stammered, arms shaking as he reached out to him.

“Hey sweetheart, I’m home.” Came the soft reply.

* * *

Cloud stared down at the letter he had received. A large  **INELIGIBLE** in dark red stamped across the letter.

All he ever wanted to do was be a SOLDIER. And with war looming on the horizon, he wanted to do his duty as a citizen and help. But now? All those dreams were shattered, crushed.

All because he was two inches too short to enlist.

It was ridiculous.

Crumbling up the paper, he tossed it towards the trash, completely missing the bin.

“Hey now, I know you’re upset, but no need to litter.” An overly cheery voice said to him.

Turning back, Cloud saw the most gorgeous man he ever laid eyes on. A SOLDIER, for sure, with the way he was dressed, and as...large he was in stature and muscle mass.

“Tch.”

“Are you Cloud Strife?” 

How did this guy even know his name? He didn’t even make it into SOLDIER, why would he even care? Surely SOLDIER’s didn’t make it their business to get to know failed recruits.

“Yeah.”

“I heard a lot about you from Angeal. He said you were the best recruit he’s seen in a long time. After me of course!” The man gave him a cheesy smile, and Cloud couldn’t help but smile back, despite the burning he was feeling in his chest from being rejected.

Angeal was the SOLDIER who dealt with the new recruits. Checked their stamina levels, and was basically the one who said who would make it into SOLDIER. 

“Great, not like I made it anyway. So I guess it doesn’t make a difference.” Cloud shrugged.

“Yeah,” Zack frowned, and Cloud blinked. He had been smiling just moments ago. Frowning didn’t seem to suit him. “I’m sorry Cloud, kinda dumb that you didn’t make it just because you’re, well, too short. If it helps, Angeal fought to have you to have been approved.”

“He did?”

“Yeah! Angeal is great, he knows talent when he sees it. This was beyond his status though. I’m sorry.” 

  
Cloud shrugged. 

“M name is Zack, by the way. Zack Fair.”

Zack had given Cloud his number. He was stationed in Cloud’s hometown for another year. And with that, it was the beginning of the end for Cloud. The last thing he had ever expected was to fall for a SOLDIER. Especially when he never made it into the program himself.

Four months in, and Cloud found himself in Zack’s car, straddling him while he kissed like his life depended on it.

“Well, isn’t this a nice surprise? Wasn’t expecting a kiss out of this.”

“Taking me to see the stars on some cliche, romantic date, and you weren’t expecting anything?” Cloud asked, reluctantly pulling away from Zack’s lips and placing his hands gently on his shoulders, keeping his place in his lap. It was surprisingly comfortable.

“Hmm, hoping and expecting are two different things, Mr. Strife.” Zack smirked, gently grasping Cloud’s chin in his hands, pulling him in closer.

The year that Zack had been stationed in Nibleheim had quickly come to an end. Way too quickly, for Cloud’s liking. He didn’t want to say goodbye, now that he had this man in his life. 

“Let’s get married then?”

“What?” That was the last thing Cloud had expected to come out of Zack’s mouth. Married? After only a few months of officially dating? 

“Yeah, let’s get married. You can come with me on deployment. Works out well, right?”

Sure, maybe it wasn’t that unheard of. Plenty of people got married fast nowadays, so they could get deployed with their spouse. His best friend Tifa had gotten married to her girlfriend Aerith, after only two months of dating.

Cloud had never even left Nibleheim. Lost all hope to ever leave after he was declined from joining SOLDIER. He was almost reluctant to leave at all now. But really, what was his life? Working at his mom’s cafe? Was that really a life at all? In this sleepy little town.

“Okay. Yeah, let’s get married.”

Their ceremony was tiny, and took place at town hall. With just his mom and Zack’s friend, Kunsel, as witnesses. They had dinner together, and set off separately for the night, so Cloud could pack, as they would leave the next day. Things went by so quick, he could feel his head spinning. But it was okay, he’d be by Zack’s side and they’d be happy.

They got stationed in Midgar, and both decided it would be the perfect time for Cloud to go to college, to become a teacher. He’d be able to finish his degree in three years, right before they’d be set to go elsewhere.

But after three years, Wutai had officially declared war, and Zack was called away on January 12th. 

He, like many others, had assumed the war wouldn’t be long. Wutai was a small, weak country, they’d surrender soon enough.

Oh how wrong everyone was.

* * *

“It’s...really you?” Cloud couldn’t even believe it. Couldn’t believe that Zack was standing there, in their kitchen, after almost a full year apart. After not hearing from him in over two months. He was just... _ there. _

“Yeah Cloudy-sky, it’s really me.” Such a soft smile on his face. 

“I…” Cloud didn’t even know what to say, frozen in place.

“You gonna come say hi?” Zack laughed gently, holding open his arms, and Cloud launched himself into them.

“Zack,” Cloud breathed out, burying his face into Zack’s neck. “I thought you were dead.”

"No. Far from it. I told you I'd be home for Christmas. And look? A few days to spar. Lucky me, I get to spend Christmas with my beautiful husband. All alone.”

“Yeah, just the two of us.” Cloud’s breath hitched, trying to hold back his tears, burying his face into Zack’s neck. He could feel Zack’s heart pounding in his chest. Nervous, maybe? But Zack had no reason to nervous. 

“I missed you so much, Cloud.” Zack pulled away slightly, wiping the tears off Cloud’s face with his thumb. 

“Yeah,” Cloud whispered, only now noticing the large bandage on Zack’s chin. He noticed Zack’s eyes widened a little bit as he went to turn his face away, seemingly ashamed by whatever it was that lay underneath.

“Hey, no Zack, don’t look away. Please, don’t ever look away from me again.”

* * *

They had spent the night on the couch, in each other's arms, gently caressing and kissing, as they watched the snow blanket the ground more than it already had. This was perfect, Cloud was beyond happy that Zack was finally back home with him, and only three days before Christmas.

When Cloud awoke in the morning, he realized that Zack wasn’t in bed next to him. He set his gaze on the bathroom door, blinking in confusion at the fact that it was closed, and the water seemed to be running. Weird. Zack never closed the door. He always left it open, and enjoyed when Cloud joined him in the shower.

Sighing, Cloud swung his feet off the bed and walked up to the door. A shower with Zack seemed nice right about now, maybe getting a little frisky too. They hadn’t had sex last night, just slept in each other's arms. Which, to Cloud, was perfect.

When Cloud turned the knob to the door, he was shocked to find it locked. Zack never shut the door, much less locked it. While, yes, Cloud respected Zack’s privacy, he didn’t expect him to lock the door.

“Cloud?” Zack’s voice came through the other side of the door. The water had shut off and Cloud could hear rustling. Of clothes? But why would Zack get dressed in the bathroom?

“Yeah?”

“I’ll be out in a few minutes. Mind starting breakfast?”

Something in Zack’s voice sounded worried and sad. And while Cloud wouldn’t press right now, he’d definitely get to the bottom of it.

“Yeah, sure.”

* * *

So not that Cloud was overly obsessed with sex, but more than anything, he wanted to be close and intimate with Zack as much as possible, especially after not seeing him for almost a full year. He just wanted to touch him, run his hands along his chest, feel their naked skin pressed up against each other, feel Zack deep inside of him - 

But Zack was avoiding him in that sense. Anytime things got a little heated, Zack stopped him and excused himself to the bathroom.

And on Christmas eve, Cloud got his answer.

“Cloud, no!” Zack yelled attempting and failing, to cover himself up with a towel. He had been getting dressed in their room, when Cloud entered, not really knocking or bothering to check if Zack was in there because it was  _ their _ bedroom.

And now Cloud knew why Zack had been avoiding him.

There were scars littering his body. Small, bullet sized scars all over his chest. Along with a large gash down his stomach. 

“Zack,” Cloud whispered, slowly making his way over Zack, sitting down next to him.

“Is this why you were hiding your body from me? Why you didn’t want to have sex?” 

“Yeah,” Zack frowned, turned away from Cloud, shame evident across his face. 

“Zack, come on. You think I’d be disgusted by you or something?” 

“No but, I know you’ve always been attracted to me. How can you still be, when I look like this?” Zack turned to him gesturing to his scars. Yeah, they were pretty gnarly, but they still didn’t bother Cloud. Not at all. Zack had literally been through a war, Cloud was just happy he came back to him alive.

“Zack,” Cloud began, moving Zack over so he was leaning against the headboard, pulling off his towel to reveal his half-hard cock. “I’ll always find you attractive.” He licked his lips staring down at Zack’s body as he pulled down his pants and boxers, tossing them to the floor, ridding himself of his shirt as well. 

Any other time, he’d tease Zack about the little intake of breath he made when Cloud revealed his naked body to him. How his cock hardened just a little more when Cloud straddled him.

In truth, Cloud wasn’t too fond of this position. Preferred Zack to be on top of him, all over him. Because honestly, it turned him on, how much taller and broader Zack was than he was. But Zack loved when Cloud rode him, so sometimes, Cloud obliged.

“Cloud,” Zack whispered, quivering hands going to Cloud's waist, holding him there.

“Gotta get the lube first, Zack,” Cloud whispered, leaning forward. Zack had expected Cloud to kiss him, but gasped when Cloud pulled off the bandage covering the large, ‘X’ shaped, red scar on his jaw.

“You’re so handsome, Zack.” Cloud said, slowly kissing up his neck, leading up to a quick peck on the lips, and then kissing the scar slowly before pulling away. He smiled warmly at Zack, who was still looking insecure.

“C...Cloud.” 

“Hmm? You are though. You always will be. You could have gone blind or lost a limb, and you’d still be perfect to me.” Cloud leaned to the side a little, noticing the way Zack’s hands tightened ever so slightly against his waist, like he didn’t want him to leave.

“I love you, Zack.” He said as he leaned back a little, popping the cap of the lube open and pouring some onto his fingers. He reached back and met Zack’s eyes, which were slightly wide in lust.

“L...let’s go a little slow okay? Been a while.” Cloud said as he fingered himself, preparing himself open for Zack's cock, which he felt harden even more against his inner thigh. Sure, he had played with himself plenty of times while Zack was away, but it wasn’t the same, and was never enough.

“Did...did you do this to yourself and think of me?” Zack asked, voice wavering a little, like he was unsure to speak.

“Of course. I thought a...about you all the time,” Cloud bit his lip, trying to stifle a moan. “I still do. You’re so perfect.” He pulled his fingers out, pouring more lube into his hand, fisting Zack’s cock slowly. Zack gasped and closed his eyes, enjoying the way Cloud’s soft hand felt against his dick. It felt so good, to have Cloud touch him, after so long. Felt much better for Cloud to touch him, more than him touching himself. Cloud’s hands were so soft, and felt so good on his cock, versus his rouch, calloused hands.

“Am I?” Zack asked, opening his eyes when he felt Cloud pull his hand away, just in time to watch Cloud slowly impale himself. His legs shaking slightly as he bit his lip, trying to contain  _ something _ .

“Hey, am I hurting you?” Zack said as he moved one hand to Cloud’s back, slowly moving his fingers up and down his soft skin. Cloud’s skin was so soft and smooth. He always loved touching him, enjoyed how Cloud felt under his calloused, rough hands. To him, Cloud’s body was beyond perfect. Soft, smooth skin, not a scar or blemish in sight. His body hadn’t hardened or gotten messed up from war. Not to say he didn’t have muscle. He definitely did. His body was truly perfect.

“No, no, it’s so good Zack.” Cloud leaned back a little, running his fingers along the different scars on Zack’s chest, like he was mapping out his skin, memorizing every new scar.

“How...how can you even look at me? Much less touch me?” He wasn’t even sure how he was able to get the words out. Not with Cloud riding his cock. The heat attacked his senses and disappearing as Cloud pulled away. It was so perfect, the way Cloud moved on top of him. The way he took his cock so deep inside of him.

“I told you, you’re perfect.” Cloud panted as he leaned forward, kissing the scars he could reach while he rode his husband's dick. “I love you. Please, don’t hide from me again.” He buried his face in Zack’s neck, letting the other man guide the movement of his hips. He whispered little words of praise into Zack’s neck as he sped up his movements, barely able to contain his moans, but wanting to hear Zack instead.

Neither of them lasted long, having been away from each other for almost a year. Cloud moaned loudly when he felt Zack release inside of him. Something he missed more than anything, feeling Zack empty himself deep inside. He loved it. He tightened his arms around Zack’s neck as he came over his chest, barely noticed the little ‘mm’ sound Zack had made.

“Don’t ever think you’re not good enough, Zack. To me, you’re perfect. I love you.” Cloud gently placed his forehead against Zack’s, smiling as he met his eyes.

“Never, sweetheart, I promise. I love you.”

“I’m so glad you’re back home for Christmas.”

“Yeah, me too. Merry Christmas, Cloudy-sky.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm writing a few Christmas one-shots! Since I'm in a very Christmas-y mood, haha! I think there will be four fics? All different AU's, and all based on a Christmas song.
> 
> The other four I have in mind are; "Baby it's Cold Outside", "All I want for Christmas is you", "Last Christmas", and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Maybe more? I'm not sure haha. We'll see how inspired I get. 
> 
> Sooo please let me know what you think! And feel free to yell any ideas at me lol.


End file.
